Rihanna: 75 interesting facts about the singer!

Rihanna is one of the most famous singers of our time. Let’s see some interesting facts about her!

1.Rihanna is just a middle name. She was called Rihanna only after she became a big star.

2. Her mother, Monica Braithwaite, is a retired accountant of background, and her father, Ronald Fenty, is a warehouse supervisor of Irish.

3. Growing up, her mother wouldn’t let her put on make-up. Ironically, later she became a Cover Girls spokesmodel.

4.  Rihanna told Oprah that she’ll often send her mother, Monica, gifts, but that her mom will send them back because she researched the price and thinks it’s too expensive. One gift that was likely not easily returned was a five-bedroom house in Barbados, which Rihanna revealed she had purchased also during an episode of Oprah.

5. Rihanna has two brothers, Rorrey and Rajad Fenty, and two half-sisters and a half-brother from her father’s side, each born to different mothers from his previous relationships.

6. All her siblings including herself have names starting with an “R.”

7. Rihanna grew up in a standard three-bedroom house helping her father sell clothes in a street market. To make a bit of extra money on the side she would buy candy, wrap it up in neat packaging and sell it to students in school for a profit.

8. Rihanna’s childhood was deeply affected by her father’s addiction to crack cocaine and alcohol which contributed to her parents’ rocky marriage.

9. As a child, she went through a lot of CT scans for the excruciating headaches she suffered. The doctors even thought it was a tumor, because it was that intense. By the time she was fourteen, Rihanna’s parents had divorced and her health began to improve.

10. Rihanna says she was a tomboy growing up. We can safely say she is anything but boyish now.

11.Rihanna started signing at the age of 7.

12. In 2003, Rihanna formed a musical trio with two of her classmates.

13. In 2004, Rihanna won her high school talent show and the Miss Combermere school beauty pageant, where she was honored in the “Best Gown” and “Most Photogenic” categories.

14. Rihanna was an army cadet in a sub-military programme.

15. The singer-songwriter Shontelle was her drill sergeant.

16. She was discovered in her home country Barbados by American record producer Evan Rogers. Rogers commented:”The minute Rihanna walked into the room, it was like the other two girls didn’t exist”.

17. When Jay Z first heard the track “Pon de Replay, he felt the song was too big for her, saying “when a song is that big, it’s hard [for a new artist] to come back from. I don’t sign songs, I sign artists”. Despite being skeptical, he invited Rihanna to audition for the label.

18. In May 2005, her debut single, “Pon de Replay”, was released which charted successfully worldwide, peaking in the top five in fifteen countries, including at number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and the UK Singles Chart.

19. Rihanna possesses a mezzo-soprano vocal range of three octaves and two notes.

20. Rihanna has named Madonna as her idol and biggest influence. She said that she wanted to be the “black Madonna”.

21. Another major influence on Rihanna’s music and career has been Mariah Carey, whose song “Hero” she performed when Rihanna was still a teenager at her high school talent show.

22. She grew up watching videos of reggae legend Bob Marley on television because that’s what they would play in the Caribbean.

23. During her childhood, she would go around singing Whitney Houston songs and “A Whole New World” into her hairbrush so much that her neighbors started calling her “Robyn Redbreast”.

24. Rihanna commented that Janet Jackson “was one of the first female pop icons that I could relate to” and that late R&B singer Aaliyah has a huge impact on her style and also complimented on the singers artistry as well.

25. Watching Beyoncé on television with Destiny’s Child also inspired Rihanna’s musical career, who was chosen along with R&B recording artists Amerie and Teairra Marí, to give a tribute performance to the female group at the 2005 World Music Awards.

26. Other musical influences and idols include Celine Dion, Alicia Keys,Fefe Dobson,and Brandy.

27. Rihanna acting debut came in the feature film Battleship released in May 2012. Although the performance received mediocre to negative reviews, the role earned Choice Movie Breakout Artist at the Teen Choice Awards.

28. Rihanna loves tattoos. She feels that tattoos are an entire culture of their own and speak for who a person is. Some of her tattoos include a music note on her ankle, a star on her left ear, a trail of stars going down her back neck and an Egyptian Falcon shaped in a gun on her right foot.

29. She had first tattoo in 2006 and once revealed “I like hanging out in tattoo shops.”

30. Rihanna is believed to be happy with fruits and water and dislike having vegetables.

31. She is also not fond of Chinese, Mexican, Japanese or Indian food.

32. A 2013 Rolling Stone reported Rihanna loves an Italian restaurant in Santa Monica called Giorgio Baldi and usually orders spaghetti with tomato sauce and fried calamari.

33. Rihanna confessed she needs to do vodka or tequila shots before her stage performance to calm down her nerves.

34. Her favorite is dark liquor but on occasion will switch to vodka.

35. The birth place of Rihanna officially celebrates Rihanna Day as a national holiday on the eve of her birthday in February. That’s one hell of a gesture!

36. In 2007, she was made the official face of tourism for Barbados and she now holds the honorary title of Ambassador for Culture and Youth.

37. Rihanna once said that she witnessed an exorcism as a child and that is why she is terrified to go in Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont which according to her is haunted.

38. Rihanna and Katy Perry are very close friends. About Katy Perry, Rihanna has said she is really fun and her sense of humor is what brought them together as friends.

39. When it came time for Katy Perry’s wedding, Rihanna was chosen for the unique role of Maid of Honor. Because of scheduling conflicts requiring Rihanna to re-record some of her music, she was not able to attend her best friend’s wedding in India.

40. Rihanna organised a bachelorette party for her close friend Katy Perry in 2010. Rihanna treated Perry and friends to a production of Ka by Cirque du Soleil at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. They later went to Las Vegas’s Hard Rock Hotel Beach Club pool where the party continued until the wee hours of the morning.

41. Rihanna is known to mingle in the crowd with big hoodies and sunglasses and gets very near to her fans. Even though she does have security near her, the next time you go for her concert, keep a look out for her.

42. She was so starstruck when she met Jay Z. ‘Oh God, he’s right there, I can’t look, I can’t look, I can’t look!’ I remember being extremely quiet. I was very shy. I was cold the entire time. I had butterflies. I’m sitting across from Jay-Z. Like, Jay-Zee.

43. In summer 2010, Rihanna collaborated with rapper Eminem on “Love the Way You Lie“, which was a major worldwide success, reaching number one in over twenty countries. The song was Rihanna’s seventh US number one of her career, making her the female artist with the fifth-most number ones in the chart’s history.

44. Her collaboration with Eminem, “Love the Way You Lie”, together with “Umbrella”, “Disturbia”, “Only Girl (In the World)”, “We Found Love”, and “Diamonds”, are some of the best-selling singles of all time worldwide.

45. Reaching number two, the song became the biggest-selling song of 2010 in the UK, and the first of Rihanna’s singles to sell over one million copies in the country.

46. To promote the album, Rihanna embarked on her Loud Tour in June 2011, which sold out ten nights at the The O2 Arena in London, the most sold out shows for a female artist in the venue’s history.

47. In October 2013, Eminem released his Rihanna-assisted single, “The Monster“, the fourth release from his eighth studio album The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (2013). With the song entering the UK Singles Chart at number one, Rihanna joined Elvis Presley and The Beatles as just one of three acts to have scored a number one single each year over seven consecutive years in the chart’s history.

48. While recording tracks for her third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007), Rihanna took vocal lessons from Ne-Yo.

49. She commented that Marilyn Monroe and vintage clothing served as visual inspirations for the music videos for “Hate That I Love You” and “Rehab”.

50. She has appeared in the top ten on Maxim‘s Hot 100 list and on FHM‘s “100 Sexiest Women in the World” several times.

51. Rihanna won Gillette’s Venus Breeze “Celebrity Legs of a Goddess” award in 2007. And after that, she insured her legs for $1 million.

52. In the year 2006, Rihanna created “Believe” foundation to treat the terminally ill children. A star with a big hear

53. Rihanna has seven wax figures at the famous Madam Tussauds Museum around the world making her a genuine star in the world to leave a remarkable mark.

54. She toured with Gwen Stefani to promote her debut album Music of the Sun.

55. In February 2009, Rihanna cancelled her performance at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards. It was later found out that this was due to a violent exchange with her then boyfriend, singer Chris Brown. Pictures were leaked to the press of a visibly beaten Rihanna and in June 2009 Brown plead guilty to felony assault. His sentence was five years probation and a restraining order of 50 feet.

56. In the years to come, Rihanna would move forward from this violent episode and have positive things to say about Chris Brown. In 2012-2013, Rihanna has begun to rekindle her relationship with Chris Brown, supporting his music and his career

57. Rihanna has sold over 200 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time.

58. In the United States, Rihanna has sold over 10 million albums, while Nielsen SoundScan ranked her as the best-selling digital artist in the country, breaking a Guinness World Record for digital single sales of over 58 million as of 2012.

59. The singer has accumulated fourteen number one singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart for the third most number ones in chart’s history.

60. “Where Have You Been”, the Rihanna’s hit single in 2011, broke the VEVO record for the most views in a 24 hour period at 4.93 million. This success was overshadowed by Justin Beiber’s ‘Boyfriend’, which set the record up to 8 million views. Rihanna still holds the record for the first woman to pass 2 billion views on the video sharing website YouTube.

61.“We Found Love“, topped charts in twenty-seven countries worldwide, peaking in the top ten in thirty countries and breaking many records worldwide. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 for ten non-consecutive weeks, becoming Rihanna’s longest-running number one single and the longest-running number one of 2011.The song was later named the 24th biggest hit of all time on the Billboard Hot 100.

62. The video clip was shot on a farm in Ireland. During the filming of this set, the farmer on whose land they were filming ordered the crew to stop and leave after seeing what Rihanna was wearing. He found her dress to be too inappropriate for his land.

63. “Diamonds“, reached number one in more than twenty countries worldwide, including on the US Billboard Hot 100, her twelfth number one on the chart which tied her with Madonna and The Supremes as the artists’ with the fourth most number ones on the chart’s history.

64. “S&M“, reached number one on the Hot 100 following the release of its official remix featuring Britney Spears, becoming her tenth number one single, which tied her with Janet Jackson for fourth place among female soloists who have topped the chart. With only four years, eleven months, and two weeks between her first and tenth number one on the chart, Rihanna set a record as the solo artist with the fastest accumulation of ten chart toppers.

65. She won her first Grammy for her song “Umbrella,” a collaboration with Jay-Z. Her second Grammy was for “Run This Town” with Jay-Z and Kanye West.

66. Rihanna banned fans from bringing umbrellas to her U.K. concerts. She was afraid people would get injured if fans tried to copy her dance moves with the umbrellas when she performed “Umbrella.”

67. Rihanna made a cameo appearance in the 2006 cheerleading romp, Bring It On: All or Nothing. She also made a musical cameo in All My Children.

68. Rihanna also has her own fragrance line that includes “Nude” and “Rebelle.

69. Rihanna’s total net-worth is an estimated $90 million.

70. Rihanna dated Los Angeles Dodgers baseball star Matt Kemp, then Canadian rapper Drake. In a January 2013 interview with Rolling Stone, Rihanna confirmed that she had rekindled her relationship with Chris Brown and they broke up again.

71. She reigns supreme online. She is the most popular person on Facebook, has the sixth most followers on Twitter, and is the most-viewed and subscribed recording artist on YouTube. On March 7, 2013, Spotify announced that Rihanna is the most streamed artist worldwide.

72. In 2013, Rihanna was also named the most influential artist in the United Kingdom and the most influential celebrity on the internet.

73. She is the most subscribed to artist on Vevo, has the most views with just over 4.6 billion views. Justin Bieber is second with over 4.4 billion views.

74. She’s dabbled in fashion. She has been a spokesmodel for high end designer brand Gucci. In February 2013, Rihanna presented her first women’s spring fashion collection at London Fashion Week for British street fashion brand River Island, collaborating with her personal stylist Adam Selman.

75. Rihanna’s height is 1.73.